UNSCRIPTED: James Hardy IV Unmistakably.....Committed!
“It’s not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me.”
By Keith Edmonds FWIS Contributing Writer
I’ve been very fortunate to spend time with so many people/personalities that have not only impacted me but our community as well. Local leaders, artists, entrepreneurs and many others have graced the pages of Fort Wayne InkSpot during the time that I have been a part of this amazing newspaper, with their stories of “How they got to this point in their lives” and what it took to achieve their various successes. In todays UNSCRIPTED, I once again have the good fortune to spend some time (over great food) with a young man who is making his OWN mark in our community and is off to Purdue University next fall to embark on what will be an amazing career academically and athletically. Please help me welcome New Haven High School and Purdue University recruit, James Hardy IV to FWIS!
UNSCRIPTED: James! Welcome to Unscripted and thank you for your time today!
JH: “No problem! Thank you for having me!”
UNSCRIPTED: I’m going to start off right away by asking you. Why did you make the decision to attend New Haven HS after everyone thought that you were headed to Snider HS after middle school? That had to be tough to leave friends, coaches, and mentors behind.
JH: “I chose New Haven because I wanted to attend a school that would allow me to pursue my dreams of becoming an Elite receiver and Snider HS was known primarily for being a school that featured running backs and not giving receivers as many opportunities to be featured. I was thinking about what life would be after Snider if I wanted to play football on the collegiate level, so I felt good about my decision to become a Bulldog though it was tough because of the relationships and respect that I had with the Snider coaches and my friends that went there.”
UNSCRIPTED: When you look at the many accomplishments that have happened for you, on/off the field, 21 Alive Scholar Athlete of the Week, All NE8 performer, All State, and having a GPA over 4.0. I would think that high on the list is the fact that you truly epitomize what it means to be a Student/Athlete with being one of the top graduating seniors not only at New Haven HS (where he’s Top 5) but the city of Fort Wayne as well. Talk about what that means to and what do you attribute that to?
JH: “So, funny story. It was back in 3rd grade when it all began. I was a hot head and didn’t really like to do my school work, but when my mom came in for Parent/Teacher conferences I got so embarrassed from the report that my teacher gave her! She told the teacher to give her ALL of the work that I was failing, and she made me redo all of it during spring break! It was then that I decided I’m never redoing work ever, and going through that embarrassing time again! (lol) I made the decision that I’ll always try to do my best in any assignments that I was given, and just try to get it done the first time. My grades started improving and this built a confidence in me that would carry over to middle school and ultimately high school academics.”
UNSCRIPTED: You’re following in some very famous footsteps in the shadows of James Hardy II and James Hardy III (whom I coached in high school). I would be remiss, if I didn’t ask, What was it like for you to be a great student/athlete and constantly be compared to your father and grandfather, but still make your OWN mark in this city? And ultimately the state of Indiana?
JH: “To be honest, it was very tough intitially. I felt it starting in middle school, but then as I got older I realized that I had to be the best version of myself, and put myself in the best position that I could and allow James Hardy IV to surface and not try to emulate my father and grandfather and I think it worked out pretty well. What was interesting is, though I played 2 sports in high school, I found football to be more enjoyable than basketball which was the sport that they were known for.”
UNSCRIPTED: So, when it came time to make your decision for college, what made you choose Purdue when I’m sure that many of us thought that you were a sure-fire Indiana University athlete? What made them stand out to you?
JH: “Why Purdue? Well, they have a program called the Daniels School of Business which is very difficult to get in to. Once I got accepted into that program, and after talking to the board, and them sharing how they prepare their students for “life after college” it was a no-brainer for me. Couple that with the fact that Purdue is in the B1G TEN then that made my decision even more confirming with the opportunities that they said they woukd give me to be on the field. NO disrespect towards Indiana or any other school that recruited me, but Purdue was the best choice!”
UNSCRIPTED: You won a prestigious honor recently by being named the recipient of the Sertoma Award which is like the Heisman of high school student/athletics. How did the significance of winning this award make you feel personally?
JH: “When my AD told me that I’d won I said thank you very much becaue I had NO idea what it was. But, when I got home and told my mom she was like;”Do you realize what you’ve won? This is the highest honor that a student athlete can win as only 1 person from each school in this area wins this.” It was then that I realized the imprtance of this award, and how truly fortunate that I was to be a representative of New Haven HS for this honor.”
UNSCRIPTED: To bring this to a close. What is something about James Hardy IV that many of us don’t know about you? Can you share a nugget or two?
JH: I’m a pretty private person, but I think that people may not know that I love helping people and not sitting around all day. I have to be doing SOMETHING to either help myself or someone else. A piece of advice that I’d give others coming after me or emulating me is: Work hard because you never know who’s watching you and following my favorite quote: It’s not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me.” (Batman Begins 2005)